"As the literary line goes, 'Most men live lives of quiet desperation,' and comics are no different," says Gehring, a telecommunications professor. "Indeed, it's often more true for them because they are often out there in search of the love and laughs they did not receive in real life.

"Regardless, for the thinking person, we all dance along the precipice as long as we can. But let's celebrate the joy he gave us. I'm reminded of an observation about the death of French filmmaker Jean Vigo, also taken much too young: 'Speculating on what might have been if he had lived, is to dismiss the scale of his achievement.'"

Gehring points out that Williams was a unique stand-up comedian in the tradition of his improvisational hero Jonathan Winters.

"He combined this with the saturation comedy tradition of a Groucho Marx — get as many comic riffs out there so that if one joke/observation is not funny, another comes morphing along," he says. "Indeed, it was a style born of survival. Early interviews with Williams and Groucho have them confessing to live performances where audience members would become verbally and/or physically abusive if they were not real funny real quick.

"Where Williams was different from Winters and Groucho was that he was also a gifted actor, which he proved early with the underrated 'The World According to Garp.' But the trick was to combine both elements."

Gehring believes the most important film in Williams' career was "Good Morning, Vietnam" because the actor was able to balance those two traits. But it was the animated film "Aladdin" that showcased his genius.

"Yes, he later won many awards, including an Oscar, but 'Garp' was the career game changer. He had a persona, which could use both gifts in one work. And ironically, arguably his greatest film was 'Aladdin' because only animators could keep up with his warp-speed mind."